


Unexpected Treasures

by Tazzy_Ladynero



Series: Bingo Fluff Fun [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Fade to Black, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Spoilers, Fluff, M/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 10:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19886257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tazzy_Ladynero/pseuds/Tazzy_Ladynero
Summary: The Warrior of Light takes Aymeric de Borel to Costa del Sol for a vacation.





	Unexpected Treasures

Aymeric tugged at the rather clingy swimsuit he had been talked into exchanging his usual armor for. True, the climate of Costa del Sol was rather warm for wool, leather, and metal, but the last time he had worn so little in front of anyone had been when the healers had been fighting to save his life after an assassiantion attempt. Not exactly the sort of memories he wanted to associate with this unexpected but much needed vacation. He had been greatly surprised when Cai’Cout had led him to a private bungalow that was built over the water when they had stepped off the ship that came from Limsa Lominsa.

“Master Gegeruju was delighted to sell me this little bit of Costa del Sol,” the silver haired Elezen had confessed with a small smile as he had led Aymeric over the wooden boardwalk and into the comfortable and airy structure. “Especially as I have left it for other, more prestigious people to use if they wish.”

Considering the sort of acquaintances that the Warrior of Light had, Aymeric was willing to bet that he meant the other leaders of the Eorzea Alliance. He felt rather fortunate that the yearly meeting to renew the Alliance had been in Limsa Lominsa which had allowed Cai’cout to whisk him off to this beachfront resort for a day or two of relaxing in the sun and waves.

He just wished the bathing suit wasn’t so tight.

“Are you ready to explore?”

Aymeric looked up and nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw Cai’cout standing there in what looked like a tiny bathing suit of white and gold. The other Elezen’s long silver hair had been braided in a simple plait to fall down his back, and Aymeric had not realized that Cai’cout’s skin was so pale. Or that he was comfortable with so much on display. Even before the Calamity that had brought a constant winter to Ishgard, the people there were ones to dress in layers and with a modesty that left Aymeric a touch uncomfortable when he had first seen Cai’cout wearing thigh high leather boots, low slung pants, and a smile. It had been Aymeric’s own fault for bursting into the room where Cai’cout had been changing for the Grand Melee against the other Grand companies, but he had been anxious to deliver the modified armor to the person he had grown to consider a close friend of his. Even then, he hadn’t been prepared for someone half naked and apparently quite comfortable in their own skin, and now, to see all that skin on display, he found himself at a loss for words.

“Aymeric? Are you alright?”

Blinking furiously and shaking his head, Aymeric managed to smile at his friend. “Yes. Sorry. You just surprised me with your choice of bathing wear.”

Cai’cout chuckled and tossed an arm around Aymeric’s shoulders. With their sides pressed against each other, the dark haired Elezen could feen the different bits of skin that indicated scar tissue, and while part of Aymeric knew that such a thing was commonplace in a warrior’s life, it actually made him a bit sad for his friend to know that a great many of those scars were gained only after Cai’cout started his career as an adventurer. 

“This is called the star spangled subligar,” Cai’cout explained as they walked out onto the sun warmed planks that created not only the base of their bungalow but also the deck that surrounded it. More decking wandered off towards the main cluster of structures that branched out from the beach like some strange tentacled animal. There really did not seem to be much of a reasoning for the structures in Aymeric’s eyes. “I was helping a moogle deliver mail, and these turned out to be one of the items that had been delivered but weren’t wanted.”

“Was there a particular reason they were not wanted, Cai’cout?” inquired Aymeric, very glad for the sandals that Cai’cout had insisted on wearing. He could feel the heat from the boards through the leather soles and knew it would be rather hot on his bare feet. How could people walk around without any shoes on in this sort of environment?

Cai’cout smirked. “They were originally supposed to be fishing bait, but the one they were offered to decided that he was going to figure out how to fish without anything helping him.”

Aymeric deliberately looked down at the small shorts before shaking his head. “I don’t see how those could possibly help in catching fish unless you were going to stun them with how short those are?”

That earned him a laugh from his friend, and he grinned as they strolled down a ramp to what appeared to be an eatery or a bar. It was difficult to tell from just glancing at it. There was a bar that encircled the center pole holding up the thatched roof while a couple of well dressed individuals moved around behind the bar, offering both food and drinks to people seated around it. Cai’cout fearlessly walked right up and claimed two stools, waving Aymeric onto one as he climbed onto the other. Within a few minutes, the young man behind the bar had taken Cai’cout’s order for both of them and returned, placing bowls full of sliced fruit next to chilled glasses of water that had a slice of lemon floating in the top.

“Eat up,” urged Cai’cout as he speared a bit of red fruit and brought it to his mouth. A drop of juice fell off the fruit to hang on those pale lips like some precious jewel, and Aymeric found himself mesmerized as a pink tongue casually flicked out to lick that drop away. A flush spread across his cheeks again as he turned his attention to his own fruit and tried to push the thoughts in his head aside for now, the ones that wondered if Cai’cout would taste as sweet as the fruit they were eating or of the breeze would leave a tang of salt on that pale skin.

Aymeric was no stranger to enjoying the male form as he and Estinien had explored each other during their teenage years during many a lonely night when they both needed something but the unending and senseless death that surrounded them as the Dragonsong War raged on without any end in sight. It had been the usual virginal fumblings as they both figured out what they enjoyed while clinging to the idea that there was someone else that understood them. Those times together had become fewer and farther between when Estinien had been shuffled into the dragoons while Aymeric had been steadily making his way through the Temple Knights’ ranks. Then, he had become the Knight Commander while Estinien had assumed the rank of Azure Dragoon, and both of them had been kept too busy with their respective duties to think about returning to those teenage fumblings.

Honestly, Aymeric had been far too busy the past couple of years since being elected as Speaker for the House to give any serious consideration towards any kind of relationship. Even Lucia had developed a bit of a relationship with Gilbillont Rivaumaiche of the Forgotten Knight in between her duties as the new Knight Commander - she couldn’t cook to save her life and it was a good place to hear about any troubles with the possibility of heading off further problems between the commoners and the nobles. 

The fruit was a mixture of sweet and tart, but it was cool and refreshing while the lemon flavored water was perfect to wash everything down. Before he knew it, he was faced with an empty bowl and glass, and feeling much better because of it. He hadn’t realised just how hot he was feeling until now, and whatever that fruit was, it had certainly helped cool him off. A glance over at Cai’cout showed the Elezen had finished his own fruit and was drinking the last of the water before putting the empty glass down with a content sigh. 

“Ready to go exploring, Aymeric?” inquired Cai’cout with a grin as he slid off the stool. “I was thinking a walk along the beach, and then we could swim back to the bungalow since there’s a ladder leading from the water up to the platform.” He chuckled. “It’s a rope ladder that can be drawn up whenever we want.”

“It is good to know that we will not have to track sand back into the bungalow after a walk in the sand,” Aymeric remarked as he rose to his feet and followed Cai’cout down the wooden boardwalk to the sand itself. He blinked when he first stepped foot on the white sand because it sounded like the sand squeaked. He took another step, and a huff of surprise slipped out of him when he realized that the sand did indeed squeak when he walked on it.

Cai’cout laughed, a good natured sound. “Yeah, that surprised me too the first time I came here,” he said, crouching down to scoop up a handful of glittering white sand before letting it trickle out through his fingers. “I admit I am not use to seeing sand this white or clean. Other beaches usually have detritus littering them from storms, shipwrecks, and other things.”

Crouching down, Aymeric scooped up a handful of sand himself, marveling at how soft it actually was. He blinked when he realized he had a colorful scalloped shell in his hand, picked up with the sand, and he turned it over in his hands, admiring the pink and cream swirls on it. He looked around but didn’t see any obvious signs of other seashells. “Are all the shells hidden like this one was?”

“Very likely,’ admitted Cai’cout with a shrug and a grin. “Give me a minute.” 

Before Aymeric could say or do anything, Cai’cout hopped up and raced back to their bungalow. The dark haired Elezen shook his head and turned his attention to carefully running his fingers through the sand again, this time coming up with a small shell that reminded him of a snail’s.. He turned it over in his fingers, grinning in delight at his discovery before scooping up handfuls of sand, searching for more treasures hidden in the white grains. By the time Cai’cout returned, Aymeric had a small pile of various shells at his feet and was trying to figure out how to carry them without dropping any of his new treasures.

“Here,” offered Cai’cout, and Aymeric found a nice sized basket with a handle being held out to him. Cai’cout beamed at him when he took the basket and started loading his shells into it. “I did the same thing the first time I came here to relax. One of the local ladies weaves these for the people who stay here, and we’re expected to take them home with us.”

“Is that a problem?” asked Aymeric, rising to his feet with his basket of shells dangling from one hand. “People taking what should remain at the resort?”

Cai’cout shrugged a shoulder. “I’m honestly not sure as I don’t know the details about the resort here,” he explained with a wry smile. “I only know about the baskets because I met the basketmaker and helped her out with a problem she was having. She’s the one who told me about the baskets being free for us to take home.”

And if that didn’t sound like his friend, Aymeric didn’t know what did. Despite all the deeds he had done over the years, the ones he remembered the most were the ones where he helped the people with the minor problems. Grinning at Cai’cout, Aymeric reached out to briefly tangle their fingers together. “Show me what you enjoy the most here.”

Cai’cout blinked in surprise at Aymeric’s gesture before he grinned and grabbed Aymeric’s hand in his. “We’re going to have to go swimming for that,” he announced before looking at Aymeric with a curious expression. “You can swim, can’t you?”

“I have been known to splash about in water before it grew too cold to do such a thing,” drawled Aymeric with a small smile for his friend. Cai’cout laughed and dragged Aymeric down the beach, their sandals squeaking in the sand as they went.

***

“I didn’t know you could swim like that,” gasped Cai’cout as hauled himself up the ladder to flop on the deck surrounding their bungalow. Aymeric laughed as he pulled himself up to lay next to his friend for a few moments, breathing a bit hard. Both ad a basket full of various seashells, including a very nice pink conch Aymeric had found on the bottom of the sea when they had gone swimming in the water. “I figure you just splashed around for a bit before floating on the surface. You swam like a Sahagin.”

Unable to help it, Aymeric laughed as he lay on the warm wood, enjoying the heat after the slight chill of the water. “Despite what many believe, Coerthas wasn’t always buried in snow and ice,” he said, turning his head to grin at his friend. “Estinien and I use to sneak down to the river in the Central Highlands when we were in training out of Camp Dragonhead and enjoy a nice swim together. We usually managed about half an hour of fun before one of the older knights would track us down and haul us back to the barracks. Of course, the fact we usually managed to bring back a bucket of crawfish for everyone to enjoy usually soothed any hurt feelings.”

Cai’cout laughed and shook his head. “I always figured you were this straight laced and almost by the books child when you were growing up, and now I find out you use to sneak off and swim for crawfish.”

“Actually, the crawfish were more of a bribe to get us out of trouble,” Aymeric replied with a mischievous smile. “Instead of confessing to playing in the water, we were simply hunting for a lunch that wasn’t the same rations as we always had. Bribery through food got us out of many punishments.”

Cai’cout just laughed and shook his head again as he also lay on the boards, and Aymeric watched as a drop of seawater trailed down Cai’cout’s ribs, catching on nearly invisible scars along the way. He pushed himself to his feet before he did something he might regret, such as trace after that drop with his tongue, and he offered Cai’cout a hand up.

“Let’s get inside before you do something like fall asleep out here and burn in the sun,” Aymeric remarked with a teasing grin. “After all, if you’re going to have all that pale skin on display, it’s practically begging to turn red from the sun.”

“You have just as much on display yourself,” huffed Cai’cout as he accepted the hand up. “I’ll be surprised if you’re not bright red by the end of our vacation.”

Aymeric chuckled and tugged Cai’cout into the bungalow. “I’m one of those people who don’t burn easily. Sun or wind burn, I barely get darker than I am now.”

Snorting, the pale Elezen grabbed a towel off a peg just inside the door and threw it at Aymeric, getting him right in the face. Aymeric only laughed and pulled the towel off his head just as Cai’cout shoved his tiny bathing suit down to his ankles. Instantly Aymeric’s laughter died as he stared at his wet and very naked friend. 

There wasn’t a single hair on his body below his lashes. 

A strange detail to focus on, but it was all Aymeric could think about. He himself had a neat thatch of black curls around his cock that he kept tidy, but he had never seen anyone who didn’t even have that much hair on their body. He watched with a sort of detached fascination as a drop of water fell from a lock of silver hair to land on Cai’cout’s chest before slowly making its way down his body to vanish into another drop around his thigh. 

Blinking and shaking his head, Aymeric managed to pull himself out of his fascination to meet Cai’cout’s eyes, trying very hard to act like he wasn’t just ogling his friend. Except Cai’cout had his own appreciative smile on his lips, and he walked over to Aymeric to rest a hand just above the wet bathing suit that was still clinging to Aymeric’s skin. A shiver slipped down the black haired Elezen’s spine at the feel of that hot hand on his chilled skin. 

“I admit that seducing you wasn’t my intention, Aymeric,” murmured Cai’cout, leaning forward enough that his breath brushed across Aymeric’s lips. “But I would not turn you away if you wish to share my bed.”

Aymeric hummed as he leaned in to taste those pale lips. Seasalt and he was sure he could taste a bit of the sweet and sour fruits they had eaten earlier, and he pulled back to offer Cai’cout a small smile. “You’re highly attractive, but our friendship meant more to me than a quick tumble between the sheets.”

Cai’cout grinned and leaned forward to kiss Aymeric again, pulling the dark haired Elezen against his body with a firm arm around his waist. The basket of seashells made a thump as it fell to the floor beneath them as Aymeric wrapped his arms around Cai’cout, letting his fingers trail over those half seen scars as he simply enjoyed the warmth of the other in his arms and the taste of him in his mouth. One of Aymeric’s hands slid up to bury itself in wet silver hair as he held Cai’cout’s head while he deepened the kiss, chasing down every trace of the fruit until all that was left behind was pure Cai’cout.

“Our friendship will not be in danger if we decide we want to share our bodies,” Cai’cout murmured once the kiss ended, leaving Aymeric a touch light headed and breathing hard. “I respect you too much for that to happen. Plus I don’t have enough friends to let something as simple as sex ruin what I hdo have.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” remarked Aymeric with a small smile before he kissed Cai’cout again. While this was turning out to be something very different than the vacation he had expected, Aymeric certainly wasn’t going to complain at all. 


End file.
